Yield and resistance of tomato rootstocks to Meloidogyne arenaria in a greenhouse

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate tomato rootstocks with the Mi resistance gene for nematode control and fruit yield, in a greenhouse naturally infested with Meloidogyne arenaria. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with four treatments (three resistant rootstocks and the Barbaros susceptible cultivar) and four replicates per treatment. 'Barbaros' was grafted onto the 'Arazi', 'Beauford', and 'King Kong' rootstocks, and compared with nongrafted 'Barbaros'. The maximum daily ambient temperatures in the greenhouse was above 28°C, in some days, during the growing period. The grafted tomato had a lower galling index and egg production than the susceptible tomato; however, no significant differences were observed between the three rootstocks. Likewise, there was no difference for the total cumulative fruit yield between rootstocks. All grafted tomatoes also had significantly higher fruit yields than the nongrafted control. The rootstocks provided fruit yields from 40.07% to 63.86% higher than that of the susceptible control in the nematode-infested soil. The rootstocks with the Mi resistance gene favor a higher tomato fruit yields and inhibit the nematode increase in soils infested with M. arenaria.